


You Know You Can't Sneak Up On Me

by rhysespieses



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Post-Time Skip, Rayllum, Reminiscing, Reunions, also zym is becoming a big boy, callum misses rayla, older rayllum, rayla has anxiety about seeing callum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:47:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29563509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhysespieses/pseuds/rhysespieses
Summary: My take on what the Rayllum s4 reunion will be like.
Relationships: Callum & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73





	1. Part 1: Callum's POV

**Author's Note:**

> A while back, I remember seeing some of the concept art of the two of them and I really like some of the early designs, so I decided to have them dressed in those concept art outfits. Part of me really hopes that the TDP crew recycles some of those early designs, some of them were really cool.

When Callum reached the Pinnacle for his morning meditation, the wind was as freezing as it was yesterday. That was the Storm Spire for you: the higher you are, the thinner-and colder- the air gets. Despite the altitude though, Callum was actually quite warm; all those lessons with Ibis over the last three years had been really helpful, both in terms of learning magic, and as a… distraction from some other things. 

_Three years to the day_ , he told himself as he sat down facing the dawn. _You’d think she’d be back by now… if she cared_. 

He kicked the intrusive thoughts from his mind, took a deep breath and tried to focus. Slow, deep even breaths. Feel the air. Be the wing. Breathe… 

_She’d be here watching, you know that, his brain pointed out. She loved watching you train_.

Slow, deep even breaths.

 _Remember how she’d curl up next to you when her shifts were done, but she couldn’t sleep_?

Feel the air. 

_She’d wait for you to finish your lesson first. Wouldn’t be caught dead interrupting your time with Ibis_. 

Be… the wing… 

_She’d wait patiently for you to finish up, and then you’d both go back to your room. She’d ask you about the lesson, pretending she wasn’t just there just so you could still geek out over it with her. Because she knows just how important magic is to you_. 

...breathe… 

_After the battle, she was shaking. And she only stopped when you held her. She only wanted to be held by you_. 

Callum sighed, finally and somewhat tearfully, giving up the ghost. He wasn’t going to get any meditation in today, not with it being the anniversary, for lack of a better term.

Zym decided to appear at that moment, coming up and curling up next to Callum’s leg; he’d grown a surprising amount since she’d left, it was honestly a shame that she didn’t get to see it, considering how much emphasis she’d put on the mission of getting him home. The young Archdragon let out a sad, melancholic noise and rested his head on Callum’s leg. 

The mage-in-training patted his head, eyes watery and a sad smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I know little buddy,” he whispered, “I miss her, too.” 

He remembered the mornings when they shared a bed back in Katolis; they were honestly surprised when Opeli, of all people, agreed to have two beds put in the room. Not like she ever checked on them anymore, the battle had done a lot to convince her that him and Ez weren’t children anymore. He remembered the times where they’d just hold each other and talk; Rayla would try to be more open about her feelings even if she wasn’t quite ready to talk about them. She always struggled and would often get very teary, but Callum would hold her and wait patiently until she found the words. Some nights, nothing happened and they’d just sleep peacefully curled into one another.

Why did she leave? Why did she feel that she had to leave?

As much as he wanted to putz around all morning and ask himself those questions on loop, he could feel someone standing behind him. Without turning around, he tried to guess who it was (Ibis had been teaching them how to do that based on how they moved the air around people). Ez wasn’t due at the Spire for another few days. Ibis always left him alone to meditate, and they didn’t have any lessons today. And while her health had made leaps and bounds since bringing Zym home, Zubeia was still mostly confined to her chamber. Gren, Aunt Amaya and her “captor” Janai had gone to the Border to see about reconstructing the Breach.

So there was only one other person in the world it could be. 

Three years. Three. Long. Years. 

Finally. 

“You know you can’t sneak up on me, Ray,” Callum said, turning to look behind him. 

At first, he didn’t see anything, just empty air, and he thought he’d made a mistake. But a moment later, she materialized, her Moonshadow form significantly more well developed compared to the day they met. Her hair, in desperate need of a trim, was longer and tied back. There were two more, smaller horns protruding from her head. Her markings were still there, same as they always were, but noticeably faded. Her brow was furrowed And the purple… Callum had always said that Rayla would look great in purple- especially since she was no longer an assassin- and while Rayla rolled her eyes every time he said it, she never outright disagreed. 

Color scheme and wardrobe change aside, there was one thing that definitely hadn’t changed in the last three years: 

She was as beautiful as the day she left. 


	2. Rayla's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Same scenario, just from Rayla's perspective this time.

“You know I can’t exactly ensure that he’ll- want to see you, you know that, right?” Ibis double-checked. He was standing just before the steps to the Pinnacle, where Callum had gone up for his morning meditation. He knew what day it was today and, out of kindness, he’d given his student the day off. But now he was in the interesting predicament of having someone else show up at the Spire. Someone no one had seen in roughly three years now. 

“I know,” she replied, pausing at the steps to the Pinnacle. “What’ll happen will happen. I know what I did and what it did to him.” She gripped her left wrist, the phantom pains of the binding still not completely gone, even after all this time. “It’s just the price I have to pay.” 

Ibis gave her an attempt at a hopeful smile. “If I’m being honest, I think he’ll be happy to see you.” 

She gave him a look. 

“Honest,” the Skywing mage said. “He’ll need time, there’s no doubt about that. But at the very least, you’re back. And if nothing else, I think he’d be happy about that.” 

She considered it for a moment before turning towards the steps to the Pinnacle. Her heart began to race, and the air started to feel thin again, even though she was safe with the  _ Ventus Spiralis _ spell. 

No more putting it off, Ray, she told herself. It’s been three years, and you left on his birthday of all days! He deserves to hear it from, and no one else. You owe him that much. So just… don’t hesitate now. Don’t run away now. 

Slowly, but surely, she began climbing the steps. 

She didn’t expect to see Zym up there with him, and by pure force of habit, she shifted into her Moonshadow form. Runaan- and her mother in some of her letters- used to tell her when she was little that some of the strongest Moonshadow elves could use their near-invisibility without the need for the full moon, and she’d spent a lot of time over the last three years honing those skills on her own. Her banishment from the Silvergrove had been lifted, but she didn’t feel completely comfortable returning home; honestly, she was worried that there would still be doubters and nay-sayers who would always assume that she ran away, and there were more people like that back home than she cared to admit.

Callum would probably think this is cool if he weren’t about to Fulmunis my head off my shoulders, she thought as she watched Zym curl up next to Callum, already significantly bigger than when she’d last seen him. He’d grown so much, and she felt bad for having missed out. His tail could almost wrap around Callum entirely, his wings were larger and stronger, and his mane was getting wilder. 

But the Dragon Prince wasn’t the only one who looked different. Callum had cut his hair shorter, sporting an undercut like Ibis- she figured that it had something to do with airflow and other wispy-whirly Sky magic stuff; she’d find out later if this turned out okay- and it looked good on him, at least, from the back. His shoulders seemed broader than before, and the runes for the wing spell that saved her life dipped and curved in some areas on his arms, almost as if it was meant to show off the muscle mass he’d gained. He looked good, great even. Compare all that with her dingy brown cloak, dirty boots, and hair that she’d kept tying back because she didn’t know how to cut her hair. She was a mess- literally and figuratively. 

Zym made a sad noise, one she recognized as the “missing someone sound,” and put his head on Callum’s leg. 

“I know little buddy,” Callum said, patting the dragonling on the head. “I miss her, too.” 

She almost gasped. She couldn’t believe it. There was no way that was true, he didn’t miss her. He wasn’t supposed to miss her, not after how she left things. She chose to leave, why would he miss her, he wasn’t supposed to… 

Right? 

Whatever anxious anti-logic was trying to throw together a pinboard of thumbtacks and red strings in her mind was interrupted by Callum’s voice. 

“You know you can’t sneak up on me, Ray.” 

Three years. Three. Long. Years. 

Couldn’t get much worse, could it? 

He turned to look at her, and she knew there wasn’t any point in keeping up the charade. She gripped her left wrist again and became visible again, worry furrowing her brow. All she could do was try to smile, but it felt strained. 

_ Out of the frying pan _ , she thought,  _ and into the fire _ .


	3. Big Feelings Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shout-out to Chimpukampu for suggesting some post-timeskip Rayllum Big Feelings Time in the comments of chapter 2. This was originally going to be a simple two-parter, where I leave the ending open enough to see where the saga will take things, but this is a brilliant idea and it’s too good to not write. So, thank you Chimpu for your wonderful suggestion, this one’s for you ;)

Rayla knew Callum would need time to process it all; her leaving in the first place and her out of the blue return three years later. It wasn't just a Callum thing or a human thing; it was just something that happened with everyone. People need time and space to heal when they experience heartbreak, time and space to rebuild trust. That was just how it worked. And the time it takes to rebuild that trust is different for everyone; some people move on in a matter of months, and for others, it could take years. Given when she left and for how long she'd been gone, Rayla expected Callum to need a few years, at least, before he fully trusted her again. She wasn't happy about it, but she was okay with it. 

Which only made Callum's decision to let Rayla into his room all the more shocking. His room. At night, when everyone else was asleep. 

"Spend the night with me," he said. "Not- not like  _ that _ ," he added quickly after seeing the blush flare up on her face. "It's more than that. If you're still here in the morning- if you're still here with  _ me _ ..."

Rayla's heart broke as his voice cracked on that last bit, and she habitually held her left wrist. She knew what he was doing: he was testing her, seeing if she'd stick around this time, trying to figure out if she was serious about staying, serious about him. Serious about  _ them _ . 

Callum was giving her another chance. 

" _ Of course _ ," is what she wanted to say, " _ of course, darling, I'll stay as long as it takes for you to trust me again _ ." But Rayla always had a hard time putting her feelings into words, and what came out instead was a timid, "Are you sure about this?" 

The mage-in-training shook his head. "No, I'm not. But you have a hard time talking about things like this, and we need to address this, one way or another."

Rayla managed to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, barely pushing out a choked, teary "Okay." 

After all this time, he was still trying to be fair and accomodating. How could he find it in him to be nice? He should be furious that she's even here, firing off as many bolts of lightning at her as he can without breaking his wrist from drawing the runes. The audacity she had, showing up like this. So why was he still being so kind to her? 

She didn't realize how bad she was shaking until she felt Callum wrap his arms around her. The first time anyone had hugged her in three years. She was helpless to stop the tears from overflowing. 

They stayed like that for a while, holding each other like they used to, grounding and comforting, and it only made Rayla cry harder, burying her face in Callum's shoulder and scarf. Why was he trying to console her? Why was he comforting her in a moment of weakness that she'd brought on herself?

"Why aren't you mad?" she finally asked after a while, tears still running down her face in rounded, bubble shapes. "I disappear without a word, and three years later, I'm practically crawling back, and you're not angry in the slightest!" It took her a moment to get her breath back. "I wish you'd zap me already or yell at me or- something! Then at least I'd know how much you hate me..." 

Callum only held her tighter. "I am mad, Ray. I'm mad that you left on my birthday; I'm mad that you didn't let me come with you. I'm mad about a lot of things, and I'm going to be mad about them for a while." He paused, just holding her for a moment while he gathered his thoughts. "But I never hated you. I could never hate you, Rayla." 

Rayla tried and failed to suppress her sobs. She'd convinced herself that he'd be outraged, that nothing she could say or do would ever make up for what she'd done. And yet, here he was, as kind as ever and letting her back into his life; not entirely, but it was far more than she'd hoped to get. The fact that he wasn't shoving her away was proof she hadn't completely screwed up.

"I was scared you weren't going to come back. I was more scared of that than anything, really," Callum continued, his voice now shaky. "The people I care about tend to not come back. That, and you were looking for Viren of all people; you know what he can do. I was scared..." Now it was his turn to bury his face in her shoulder. 

"I'm sorry," Rayla managed after a long, silent moment. "I'm so sorry." 

Callum picked his head up and sniffled. "Just stay. Please. That's all I ask." 

"I will." 

"Promise?" 

"I promise." 

For the first time in three years, Callum finally let himself cry unrestrainedly. "I missed you so much, Ray." 

"I missed you too, Cal. So, so much." 

The human prince cracked a smile and held her tighter. "Missed you more." 

Rayla felt a smile on her lips before she could help herself. "No," she said as her dorky mage pulled back and wiped away her tears. "I definitely missed you more." 

As they curled up with each other and playfully debated who missed whom more, they knew, somehow, that they were going to be okay. Not perfect, not seamless, but okay. Trust takes time to rebuild, and as far as Rayla was concerned, being okay was more than enough for now. 


End file.
